Since about a month and a half old GV has been putting himself to sleep. At first he'd cry just a bit then fall asleep a few minutes later. For a while now, he's skipping the late night cry and going straight to sleep.
At two months old we moved GV into the crib in his room. This was a tough transition for me, but thankfully GV didn't seem phased. We had been putting him to bed around midnight and he'd sleep till around 5-5:30ish. However Dr. S said that GV should be ready to sleep a full 12 hours at night, and we were ready to jump on board. His instructions were to lay him down around 11ish, then not go back into his room till 7 or 8 in the morning, then in the following weeks keep pushing his bedtime up by about 30 minutes. And TA-DA you're at 12 hours! Right now we are in the third week of "sleep-training" and GV is going to bed at 10:30 and waking up around 7. After he gets his last meal he is usually ready for what we call happy hour, then right around 10:20ish, just like magic, he's a little fussy. Dave swaddles him up, puts him in his crib, and the crying immediately stops. Last night he slept 9 hours. I had heard him crying around 6AM but he was quiet a few minutes later, then woke up about 7:30.
GV also takes two long naps during the day. One usually around 10 AM and the other around 8 PM. He normally lets us know that he's ready for these naps too.
His little seahorse helps him to get to sleep. His belly lights up and he plays soft music. GV will stare at the light until his eyes can't stay open any longer. I bought that seahorse for GV for Christmas, despite hating the way that it looked. His Ugly Doll was on backorder, and we weren't getting him any other toys; after reading tons of reviews I decided to get one. It really has become his little friend in his crib.
The reason I write all this is because I really thought that I would never be getting a full night's rest again. Even in the beginning, I was figuring that he was always going to sleep for two to three hours at a time. I'm learning as I go, but I really think our key has been a pretty strict routine. Hopefully we'll continue down this road as he gets older. Now I stand a lot more optimistic; I'm really believing that Griffin needs his routines more than I do.
He is doing great!! SO much better than my kids!! I would suggest slowly backing up his bedtime so he is going to bed a little earlier. My kids both have done the twelve hour schedule. Emma's was 7 to 7, but Ellie has always done better with 6:30 to 6:30. It is nice we get they get very active during the day to have some time at night without them for housework and your spouse. I do think you are in order for a *big* congrats on the sleep training. I live and die by my schedules but it makes a huge difference in kids they perform so well when they know what to expect!
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures!! Looks like you had a wonderful Christmas with Griffin! Happy New Years!!
ReplyDeleteLove the glowing seahorse! It was a lifesaver when we had to stay at LeBonheur for 4 days without her overhead crib mobile! Love it! I'm glad he is doing so well! He is absolutely precious!
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